Accounting Of Deeds

According to verses of Quran and traditions of the Holy Infallibles (as), the accounting of deeds is an imminent and a necessary matter. Although in Qiyamat, every person would be having his scroll of deeds with him, in which everything is recorded, but since his deeds throughout the life were widespread and he does not have complete awareness about them, in Qiyamat, in the presence of the Almighty Allah he would be presented with them, so that he may observe them with his own eyes.

On that day men shall come forth in sundry bodies that they may be shown their works. So he who has done an atom’s weight of good shall see it. And he who has done an atom’s weight of evil shall see it. (99:6-8)

On the day that every soul shall find present what it has done of good and what it has done of evil, it shall wish that between it and that (evil) there were a long duration of time… (3:30)

In Qiyamat and with the accounting of deeds, the scroll of deeds of every man would be handed over to him, but all the people would not get their scroll in the same manner. On the contrary the scroll of the believers and righteous would be given to them in their right hands and this is a sign of their easy accounting. And the scroll of infidels and oppressors would be given behind the head and in the left hand, which is a sign of difficulty in accounting.

Then as to him who is given his book in his right hand. He shall be reckoned with by an easy reckoning. And he shall go back to his people joyful. And as to him who is given his book behind his back. He shall call for perdition. And enter into burning fire. (84:7-12)

1. The Righteous: It is the group of those who have the highest ranks from the aspect of faith and good deeds; they followed the Shariat to perfection and did not commit anything unlawful. There would be no accounting of such people and they would be sent to Paradise before all.

And you shall be three sorts. Then (as to) the companions of the right hand; how happy are the companions of the right hand! And (as to) the companions of the left hand; how wretched are the companions of the left hand! And the foremost are the foremost. These are they who are drawn nigh (to Allah). (56:7-11)

Allamah Tabatabai has written in the interpretation of this verse that: The ‘foremost’ in the verse are those who took precedence over others in performing good deeds and from this aspect they have precedence over others in getting salvation and mercy of the Almighty Allah.1

Polytheists, infidels and oppressors: This group also would be shocked in Qiyamat by looking at their scroll of deeds, which would be dark and full of evil, corruptions and harmful habits and would not see any light either in themselves and their scroll of deeds, they would find themselves in complete loss. Their fate is obvious and there is no need of any accounting. They have no good deed to their credit that there should be a need to account them, since faith is necessary for acceptance of deeds.

And (as for) those who disbelieve, their deeds are like the mirage in a desert, which the thirsty man deems to be water; until when he comes to it he finds it to be naught, and there he finds Allah, so He pays back to him his reckoning in full; and Allah is quick in reckoning; (24:39)

And then says:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَن يُشْرَكَ بِهِ

Surely Allah does not forgive that anything should be associated with Him… (4:48)

Imam Sajjad (as) has said in a lengthy tradition:

“No balance would be fixed for the polytheists and no scroll would be unfurled; the unfurling of the scroll is only for the Muslims.”2

The Messenger of Allah (S) said:

“Allah, the Mighty and Sublime takes the accounts of the deeds of all the people except those who were polytheists; no accounting would be there for such people and they would be thrown into Hell right away.”3

3. In the middle: The third group would be of those who were neither complete disbelievers nor sincere believers; on the contrary they were in the middle; but they had faith in Allah, in the Prophet and in resurrection and they performed their duties according to their ability and have good deeds to their credit. But as a result of the weakness of their faith they also have some shortcomings and defects. The Quran says:

And others have confessed their faults, they have mingled a good deed and an evil one; may be Allah will turn to them (mercifully); surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. (9:102)

Accounting is needed for the determination of the final destiny of these people. Although the fact is that the Almighty Allah is fully aware of the deeds of people and even the smallest point is not hidden from Him, and everything is clear to Him even before the accounting and He is also cognizant of the final consequence of everything; in spite of that the accounting of deeds on Judgment Day is a necessary matter. It is so because man forgets whatever good or bad he has done throughout his life.

Moreover he only sees the apparent aspect of his deeds and is unaware of the hidden aspects and that is why he expects rewards for which he is not eligible. The Almighty Allah rewards and punishes people according to the eligibility of the person and not on the basis of his expectations. That is why the accounting of Judgment Day is necessary, so that people should not have any excuse and that they should know that they have been dealt with justice.

The accounting of Judgment Day is very detailed and accurate and everything would be questioned. Here we shall mention some of them in brief to illustrate our assertion:

First: Principles of belief: The first and the most important matter that would be subject to inquiry are the principles of faith. Beliefs from different aspects would be adjudged and evaluated; did he have faith in all of them or he was in doubt about some of them or denied them? Were the people sincere about them or their beliefs were stained with some nonsensical matter? Were the principles of faith deeply rooted in his being or they did not cross the limit of verbal expression and imagination? Such matters are effective in the perfection of the spiritual light and ranks of men in the hereafter and they would become clear in Qiyamat and at the time of accounting.

First: Blessings: Blessings that the Almighty Allah has bestowed to His servants to serve as venture capital of worldly trade and a medium of obtaining provisions for the hereafter. On Judgment Day and during the accounting all valuable blessings would be asked about. The world is really tillage of the hereafter and the business place of mankind.

“For the righteous believers in the Almighty Allah, the world is a trading house; they earn the mercy of Allah in it; and they gain Paradise as profits.”5

The valuable bounties of the Almighty Allah are so numerous that a number of traditions have mentioned that they would be asked about on Judgment Day.

The Messenger of Allah (S) said:

“On Judgment Day, man would not be able to take a single step without being questioned about some things. His age, how he spent it? His youth, how he used it? His wealth, how he earned it and where he spent it? And love and affection for us, Ahle Bayt.”6

The Holy Prophet (S) said in another tradition:

“Every day, twenty-four treasures would be opened up for man in Qiyamat equal to the hours in a day. When he sees the treasures, which would be full of light and pleasure, he would be so pleased that if his happiness is distributed among all the folks of Hell, they would forget the chastisements of Hell. That treasure is related to the hour in which he worshipped the Almighty Allah. At that time, another treasure would be opened for him, which would be dark and terrifying. He would scream on seeing that with such terror that if the same terror is distributed among all the folks of Paradise they would forget the pleasures of Paradise.

It is the hour when he was involved in disobedience of the Almighty Allah. Then another treasure would be opened for him in which he would not be able to see anything as it is related to the time when he was asleep or involved in some lawful worldly activities; on seeing that he would feel regret that he did not utilize it for some profitable deed; he would regret it so deeply that it cannot be described. That is why the Judgment Day is also called as the ‘day of loss and gain’.”7

Third: Worship acts: Obligatory and recommended acts like prayer, fasting, Hajj, supplication, charities and other worship acts would be accepted and rewarded only if they fulfill the following conditions: Firstly: They should be performed according to the criterion of religious laws as ordered by the Prophet. Secondly: They should have been performed seeking the pleasure of Allah and His proximity. If they were done to show-off or time pass; not only would they go unrewarded, on the contrary they would be considered as a kind of polytheism.

Imam Ja’far Sadiq (as) said:

“Every act performed for show-off is polytheism. One, who does something for someone other than Allah, should seek the reward of the same from that person only; and one who does something for the Almighty Allah, his reward is upon the Almighty Allah.”8

Ali bin Salim says: I heard Imam Ja’far Sadiq (as) say:

“The Almighty Allah has said: I am the best partner; I will not accept the deed of anyone who makes something other than Me as his partner. I only accept the deed performed for Me exclusively.”9

How numerous are those who spend years in worship and are pleased by it and imagine themselves to be deserving of Paradise, others also consider them to be such, but since they were for something or someone other than Allah, in Qiyamat and after accounting of deeds, they would not be rewarded. God forbid!

Fourth: Everlasting philanthropy: Charities and public welfare projects that require funds like Hajj, Umrah, Ziyarat, construction of Masjids, hospitals, clinics, schools, universities and other philanthropic activities, which are called as everlasting charities; such activities would be greatly valuable, but subject to two conditions:

First is that they should have been performed with the intention of gaining proximity to Almighty Allah and not for fame, name or social status as mentioned earlier. The second condition is that the money spent should be lawful; otherwise it would be of no use in Qiyamat.

Imam Ja’far Sadiq (as) said:

“If someone obtains money through illegal means and with that money goes for Hajj, when he recites the Thalbiya (Labbaik) at the time of putting on the Ihram dress, he would be told by Almighty Allah: ‘Neither I accept nor do I welcome you’; but when the expenses of Hajj are paid through lawful funds, at the time of Thalbiya he would be told: ‘I accept you and welcome you.’”10

The Messenger of Allah (S) said:

“If man has earned money through unlawful means, and he spends in charity from it, he would not get any reward for it; and if he spends it in his life, it would not be blessed. And if he leaves it in inheritance, it would be a provision for the fire of Hell.”11

How numerous are those who form charities and are considered righteous and are pleased at this and also consider themselves eligible for enormous divine rewards. But since it was all through unlawful money, there would be no reward for them in the hereafter. All this would become clear on Judgment Day after the accounting.

The most difficult stages of accounting are concerned with oppressing people and with the mutual rights of men. People live with each other and have rights on each other. To fulfill the rights of each other is a religious duty of man. The prophets and the Holy Prophet (S) has emphasized on this matter that in Qiyamat they would have to account for them particularly.

The rights of people are numerous. Each of them is named and its details are given in books of traditions and here it is not necessary to mention all of them fully and neither is it possible to do so.

We shall mention only some of them in brief: every married couple, parents and children, relatives, neighbors and fellow citizens, youths and aged, teachers and students, wealthy and poor, agents and subordinates, co-religionists and fellow countrymen…have mutual rights and duties on each other and their fulfillment is a moral, religious and social duty. And to violate them is considered a sin and a crime, which would be accounted for in Qiyamat.

It is possible that in Qiyamat the Almighty Allah may overlook violation of His rights, but He will not overlook the violation of the rights of people, except if those whose rights have been violated permit it.

Amirul Momineen (as) said:

Injustice is of three types: First is the injustice that would not be forgiven, second is the injustice, which would not be left without appeal and the third is that which would be forgiven. The injustice which would not be forgiven is polytheism with the Almighty Allah. The Quran says:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَن يُشْرَكَ بِهِ

Surely Allah does not forgive that anything should be associated with Him… (4:48)

As for the injustice that would be forgiven is a small injustice that everyone commits on himself, but the injustice that would not be left without accounting includes the injustice of people on one another; they would have to compensate for it very dearly. It is not like receiving an injury or being lashed, on the contrary it is most painful.12

The accounting about the rights of people on Judgment Day is very difficult, because there one would have nothing which one could give to the claimants; for example one who usurped the property of others in the world, or did not bear the expenses of wife or children, or one who killed a person and did not pay the blood money, or striked an oppressed one and did not pay its penalty, or seriously harmed someone and did not recompense, or backbitten about someone or insulted another, but did not convince that person to forgive him, in Qiyamat and at the time of appeal, he has nothing which he can offer to those who have a claim on him.

This problem can be solved only in one of the two ways: the first is that the good deeds of the debtor can be swapped with those of the creditor to compensate for that which he had usurped in the world and the next option is that if the debtor does not have any good deeds in his account, an equal quantum of sins may be transferred from the account of the creditor to the scroll of deeds of the debtor as compensation.

A person has narrated from Imam Muhammad Baqir (as) or Imam Ja’far Sadiq (as) that he said:

“The debtor would be brought in Qiyamat in such a state that he would be extremely terrified; if he has good deeds in his account, they would be taken from him and given to the claimants and if he does not have any good deeds in his account, sins of the claimant are transferred to the account of the debtor.”14

The Messenger of Allah (S) said:

“A person would be brought before the Almighty Allah on Judgment Day for accounting and the scroll of deeds would be handed to him. When he looks at it, he would not find his good deeds in it. He would say: O Lord, this is not my scroll of deeds, since I cannot see my good deeds in it. He would be told: Your Lord neither makes a mistake nor does He forget anything. Your good deeds are transferred to persons whose backbiting you committed. After that another person would be presented for accounting and his scroll of deeds would be handed to him. When he looks at it, he would find it containing a large number of worship acts, which he had never performed. He would say: O Lord, this is not my scroll of deeds, since it records good deeds that I have never performed. He would be told: Since so-and-so backbited about you, in exchange We transferred his good deeds to your account.”15

The Messenger of Allah (S) also said:

“On Judgment Day, a group would be brought having huge good deeds like mountains in their accounts; but the Almighty Allah would disperse them as particles of dust; and they would be taken to Hell.”

Salman asked: “O Messenger of Allah (S), who would these people be?”

He replied:

“They were of those who prayed, fasted and remained awake all night in prayers, but when unlawful things were presented to them, they simply pounced on it.”16

The Messenger of Allah (S) asked his companions:

“Do you know who is poor?”

They replied: “It is one among us who neither has any money nor any goods.”

The Messenger of Allah said:

“The real poor one among my followers is one who would come on Judgment Day with prayers, fasts and Zakat, while there would be some who have defamed others, accused some of fornication, usurped others’ property, killed someone and thrashed some; thus the good deeds of that first man would be taken and transferred to these sinners; if the good deeds would be depleted, but some claimants would still be there, then the sins of the claimants would be transferred to him, and he would be thrown into Hell.”17

The accounting of all the people on Judgment Day is not the same; for some it is extremely easy and for some it is extremely difficult. Three kinds of accounting are described in the Holy Quran: Severe accounting, evil accounting and an easy accounting. These differences are due to the kinds of deeds of different people. Infidels, oppressors and sinners would face an extremely severe accounting. They have more evil traits of character and possess more sins and at the time of accounting, each of their acts will be checked in detail; this is true especially for oppressors.

Who would be answerable in detail about their oppressions and ordered to compensate to those whose rights they had violated. But as for righteous believers, whose scroll of deeds will be given in their right hands, their accounting would be easy, since they would not be having any sin in it; or if there, they would be minor, requiring no accounting; their accounting would be over very fast and they would be happily sent to the Paradise to dwell in the neighborhood of the Prophet and the Imams.

The best way to escape the difficulties of accounting is that a person should be requited of his deeds in this world itself and before his death.

The Messenger of Allah (S) said:

“Evaluate your deeds before you are subjected to the accounting of your deeds on the balance; weigh your deeds yourself and in this way prepare yourself for the major accounting.”18

How nice it would be if one devotes an hour to evaluate ones deeds every day. That one goes into isolation and in detail and without any indulgence evaluates the deeds of the past twenty-four hours. If he has performed all his duties, he should thank Allah and resolve to do the same in future also; on the contrary in a better way. should And if he omitted an obligatory duty, since it can be amended, he repents and makes up for it; if he has committed a sin, he repents for it along with a firm intention never to repeat it again.

If he owes something to another person, he pays it immediately and earns the approval of his debtor; and if it is not possible to repay him immediately, he vows that he would obtain his approval at the first opportunity. He seeks the forgiveness of the Almighty Allah. He should be earnest to amend his account as if it is the last hour of his life in the world and his death is going to occur the next moment. Such people would not need to account for their deeds on Judgment Day and they would enter Paradise without accounting or after an easy accounting.

Then are they sent back to Allah, their Master, the True one; now surely His is the judgment and He is swiftest in taking account. (6:62)

From such verses it can be concluded that the Almighty Allah would take a swift account of all the small and big deeds of people and decide their fate.

Allamah Tabatabai has mentioned a few points under the explanation of these verses and in justification of a swift reckoning of the Almighty Allah:

1. The Almighty Allah is cognizant of every small and big, good and evil deed of all, whenever they might have committed them.

2. The actual good and bad deeds of the people would be recorded and they will change into another form and it is these which would be their recompense.

3. In the world and after every good and bad deed, its recompense is given to the people and the account is clear to the Almighty Allah, but it would become clear to the people on Judgment Day.19

A man asked Amirul Momineen (as): “How would the Almighty Allah take the account of the people while they would be so numerous?”

He replied:

“He does so just as He conveys their sustenance to them.”

He asked: “How would he take their accounts while they do not see Him?”

He replied:

“He does so just as He conveys their sustenance to them, while they do not see Him.”20

This tradition can be explained as follows: Sustenance consists of things, which a man needs to enable him to survive and remain in health and well-being. For example different types of foods, water, clothes, light, elements, air, medicine and…the Almighty Allah bestows sustenance to man; it implies that in the system of creation, He bestowed favor to the needs of all the people, anticipated all the causes and factors of sustenance of man and created them and placed the instruments of using them in his being.

Action and creation of Allah is instantaneous and is not gradual, but the earning of sustenance by human beings is gradual and temporal. It is not that in conveying the sustenance to every person a new favor and intention is needed.

Allah is the creator of time and space; since His holy being is not in need of time and space; his action also is not gradual and time-bound:

وَمَآ أَمْرُ السَّاعَةِ إِلَّا كَلَمْحِ الْبَصَرِ أَوْ هُوَ أَقْرَبُ

…and the matter of the hour is but as the twinkling of an eye or it is still nearer. (16:77)

Same is the case with the accounting of deeds. The Almighty Allah has direct knowledge of all the deeds of the people. Their accounts and consequences are clear to Him and there is no need for separate accounting, although their fruits would be declared on Judgment Day.

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